This Simply Does Not Happen
by Shiara Daydream
Summary: What if Alice's two friends had seen her abuduction to Wonderland? What happens when they jump down after her? And what will they do when they get there? BloodxOC? BorisxOCxPierce JuliusxAlice
1. Prologue

Author's Note:: This is my first Heart no kuni no alice fanfic so criticism is helpful and fully expected! Please review!

Prologue

"I wonder how Alice is?" said a slim girl with long dark brown hair. Her eyes were clouded with worry but that did nothing to dilute their violet brilliance.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Vivien." Her companion assured her. She had black hair and eyes that resembled the green of the first leaves of spring. "Alice is tougher than she looks. She won't let _that_ man get her down for long."

"Not everyone is like you Daphne." Vivien said, a tad exasperatedly. "It takes normal people time to get over someone." Daphne just smiled.

Both girls were on their way to Alice's to check on their best friend. Ever since _that_ man had started to court Lorina, Alice had seemed distant. Without bothering to knock they walked into the house. They had been friends for years and had long since dropped this formality.

They were walking by the window that gave a scenic view of the garden. Only to see Alice in the arms of a man…with rabbit ears?

"Alice!"Screamed Vivien as she and Daphne dashed out the door that led to the garden. Alice was gone, but Daphne raced towards the spot where they had been. Noticing a moment too late that there was a large chasm in their place. She fell down without a sound and Vivien followed, both spiraling down to certain death. Or so they thought.

Author's Note:: So how do you like it? This story will be told in three PoV's: Vivien's, Daphne's, and Alice's. With other character's added in throughout the story. Reviews welcome and hoped for! **r/r**


	2. The Strange Glass Vial

The Strange Glass Vial

_**Daphne's PoV**_

I can see the light at the bottom! Oh no, I can't die yet! I can't hear Vivien screaming, but I swear I heard it a few moments ago. There's the light!

I brace myself for the impact but it never comes. I slowly open my eyes and see that I'm on the ground. I stare disbelievingly at the trees around me. I relax for a moment before "reality" kicks in. Why am I here? Where is here!

For no reason at all my vision becomes cloudy, I squint and can barely see anything. A terrible headache follows right after this and I unsuccessfully try to ignore it.

"Well this is unusual," said an amused voice. "Another outsider…"

"Who are you?" l grimaced in pain as I tried, ineffectively, to look around.

"No one of importance…" He said again, I was pretty sure 'it' was a he. Then I heard a loud crack and suddenly I was falling again. It was with a sense of déjà vu that I found myself on the ground; completely unscathed. I was in a strange place filled with cliffs and mist. And a floating old man with an eye patch.

I assumed he was old because of the gray/silver hair and the eye patch I couldn't explain.

"I'm not old, this is my natural hair color." He said somewhat annoyed.

"How did you-" I started to ask.

"I'm an incubus. Call me Nightmare. I can read your thoughts." He explained in a bored tone. I bet he got that a lot. Then what he said finally hit me, an incubus! I faintly remembered the term from a story I had read: an imaginary demon that is fabled to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women….Oh my God. As anyone would have, I immediately started to search for an exit. No such luck.

He rolled his eyes at my thoughts and said, "No harm will come to you, but you need to do something before you can leave."

"What?" I asked reluctantly. There was no visible way out of here; I was trapped.

"Drink this." He said while opening his hand: in his palm was a small vial filled with a pink liquid."

"No way in hel-"

"Drink it or you won't be able to find Alice." He interrupted. That caught my attention.

"Where is she?" I demanded. If he had hurt her…..

"She's perfectly safe, but you might not be if you go wandering around. It'd be safer if you knew wich direction to go." He smiled in a way that seemed very deceitful even though I think he meant it for reassurance.

My options were either to drink whatever it was or to try and find a way out of here. I sighed and chose the inevitable. "Give me the vial." He smiled wider and handed it to me without a word.

I eyed it warily before slowly opening it. Before common sense got the best of me, I quickly drank it. I nearly spat it all out at the revolting taste.

"Hmm… So its unappealing to you….Interesting." He commented cryptically. "Well, there's no helping that, head towards the clock tower; you'll find Alice there." He smirked. My eyes started to droop, but I heard him say one final thing as I drifted off. "Welcome to 'Wonderland', Daphne."

_**Vivien's PoV**_

As we neared the bottom of the hole, Daphne suddenly vanished right in front of my eyes. I closed my eyes and screamed….only to feel the ground under my knees. I opened my eyes and found myself in a strange place that seemed to only consist of cliffs/mountains and fog; lots of it. And there was a floating guy in front of me.

I did the thing that came naturally to me in situations like these: I freaked out. "Ah! Who are you? Where Daphne and Alice! WHY ARE YOU FLOATING!" I screamed, yearning for someone to be with me so I didn't have to confront this strange man alone.

All the man did was raise one eyebrow and hold out a glass vial. For a moment I stared at the bottle, why was the liquid pink, before I glanced back up at him. Get a hold of yourself Vivien, I told myself. Your friends are missing, no time to get sidetracked by a vial.

"I managed to get you here before you fell and you passed out for several minutes, I might add. He seemed amused. "Drink what's in this vial then I will transport you to wherever you need to go."

"Where Alice is." I said quickly.

"What about your friend Daphne? Is she not here as well?" he asked, his tone betraying his curiosity.

"Daphne can take care of herself." I said decisively. "In fact if I did go to her when I have the chance to find Alice, she'd probably be very angry."

"She sounds very independent." The man said. I didn't reply as I took the vial and drank it. It tasted really sweet. I had to stop myself from asking for more.

"Curiouser, and curiouser…." He said softly, after watching my reaction. He raised his right hand, and snapped his fingers. Then everything went dark.

_**Alice's PoV**_

"So are you going to the ball Alice?" Boris asked. We were currently walking back to the Clock Tower after having been at the Amusement Park all day.

"I don't know…" I replied softly.

"Alice? Alice…..Are you even listening?

"Hmm…." I mumbled. Boris sighed and continued walking. I was too busy thinking. I had good friends here in Wonderland, but with Vivaldi as the exception: they were all guys. There was nothing wrong with that, but I couldn't help but miss my _best_ friends who, sadly, weren't here.

I still remembered the day we all met…

_I had been walking in some garden I had wandered into, when I saw something. A girl, who looked to be about the same age as me, was peering into a window. _

_ "Hello." I said softly. The girl, evidently startled, fell back with a small yelp. "Are you alright?" I asked, worried. The girl nervously brushed her hair out of her face and looked up at me._

_ "I'm fine." She said softly, a light blush on her face; no doubt from getting caught._

_ "My name's Alice. What's yours?" I asked in as kind a voice I could manage. She seemed wary of me._

_ "My name's Vivien." She said in that same soft tone. She stood up and brushed the non-existent dust off her dress. _

_ "What were you doing?" I asked curiously._

_ Vivien blushed slightly then said, " I was…well.." she sighed then tentatively spun me so I was facing the window. And for the second time that day I was greatly surprised. _

_ For past the window was what seemed to be a ballet studio. There was a girl in white toe shoes at the bar. She was repeating the basic steps over and over. She had long black hair that matched her, surprisingly, black tutu. She had an almost unearthly grace that matched the expression of absolute serenity on her face._

_ "She's amazing…." I breathed. I was in awe; my sister had long since given up any hope of teaching me ballet. Contrary to what she thought though, that didn't meant I couldn't appreciate how beautiful it was. _

_ I turned back to Vivien, we both smiled. We turned back to the window, but the girl wasn't there._

_ "Who are you?" A voice from behind asked. Vivien and I both whipped our heads around to find its owner. It was the girl from the ballet studio._

_ We started to mumble out excuses, but she started laughing. After a few more seconds we were all laughing, albeit with a few tentative giggles on Vivien's part._

_ "Young mistress, who are these people?" A maid asked us as she walked up to the 'ballet girl'. _

_ "They're my friends." The girl answered calmly. "My name is Daphne."_

_ "My name is Alice." I told her, while trying not to laugh at the maid's expression. Clearly she didn't think much of the so called 'friends' if they didn't know each other's names. However she didn't say a word and calmly went back into the house. While Vivien was meekly telling Daphne her name, I looked at the two of them happily. Today when I came home I could tell my sister I had two new friends._

I came back to reality with a sigh… I wonder what my friends were doing now…

"Alice!" I snapped out of my daydream and looked quickly at Boris. He was staring in shock at something…. I followed his gaze when my eyes found the form of a girl sleeping on the ground! The yellow dress looked familiar….NO! It couldn't—The girl rolled over, so her face was visible.

"VIVIEN!"


	3. Daphne Meets the Mafia

_Daphne Meets the Mafia_

Chapter 2

_**Daphne's PoV**_

I squinted then looked up at two blurred figures. "Who are you?" I asked groggily.

"I'm Dee and this is my brother, Dum." One of them said. My vision cleared and I saw the two identical boys in front of me.

Dum was squinting at me before his eyes widened in shock. "What are you looking at?" I asked, somewhat irritated.

"Brother, she looks like the boss!" Dum said excitedly.

"She acts like him too!" Dee said, both wearing the same shocked expressions.

Then I heard footsteps from behind me. I turned to see another man come into view…..and he had rabbit ears. Instantly the scene from the garden flashed through my mind, he had taken Alice!

"You!" I accused in a fierce voice. He looked a bit shocked, but he stood ramrod straight for a few seconds until an expression of incredulity was on his face as he saw me. "Where is Alice?" I demanded.

"She's….she's at the Clock Tower." The-man-with-rabbit-ears said.

"Why did you take her here?" I continue in a seemingly calmer tone but was really laced with millions of underlying threats should he answer incorrectly.

"Why would I take Alice! You're talking about Peter, that creep lives at Heart Castle." the man stated heatedly.

"But you have the same rabbit ears….Oh, you're not him." I said as I finally noticed what he was wearing. When I glanced back at his face, he bore an expression of the utmost annoyance.

"I am _**not**_ a rabbit!" He yelled. The two boys were clutching their sides while rolling on the ground in laughter.

"She's right." Dee said, breathlessly.

"Yeah, stupid chickie rabbit." Dum managed to say.

The man was blushing, but he managed to calm down and say, "I'm Elliot. And you are…?" He asked curiously. He stared at me for a few moments.

It was unnerving to say the least. "My name is Daphne, pleased to meet you." I said smoothly, trying to get him to stop his staring.

If anything it just made the three of them more freaked out. I sighed and stood up, ignoring their mutterings of "just like boss," or "they even look alike."

"So which way is the Clock Tower?" I asked the three figures who were still in a daze. The twins were the first to snap out of it.

"It's that way." Dee said happily.

"Thank you." I said with a smile, the twins were so happy and carefree. I started to walk away but suddenly I felt two tugs on both of my arms. I looked down to see Dee and Dum holding my hands.

"We want to go see the pretty lady, too." They both said…at the same exact time. Shaking off the slightly creeped out feeling, I turned to Elliot to see if he was coming too. Predictably he was still out of it. I rolled my eyes then let out a frustrated sigh. " Coming?" I asked a tad impatiently.

He snapped up faster than I would've thought possible. "Yes, Blood. I mean…er, Daphne." He said quickly at first until his voice took on a sheepish tone. I smiled at him and laughed softly before turning around and following the twins.

_**Vivien's PoV**_

It's so warm, I thought to myself.

"Vivien, Are you awake!" An exuberant voice asked.

"Five more minutes…" I said drowsily, while relishing the warmth.

"Vivien, wake up! It's me, Alice!" The voice screamed. I pondered what the voice had said before it finally sunk in.

"ALICE!" I screamed. Eyes wide open and fully awake, I finally realized I was being carried; by a person with _cat ears_. After I noticed that little detail, I took in the pink hair, piercings, golden eyes, and the fact that he was smiling at me. He had a nice smile. Focus Vivien, I told myself and turned back to Alice. "What is going on?" I asked the two of them.

For Alice's part she was trying her best not to laugh at the no doubt hilarious picture right in front of her. "Daphne and I saw you being kidnapped by that man with _rabbit ears_!" I told Alice, worried beyond belief something terrible had happened to her.

"Oh." Alice said, her expression becoming dark as the face I had cheerfully named appeared: Alice's-contemplating-murder-face. "That perverted stalker isn't here." She started to grumble to herself about "annoying creeps" when I realized I was still being held by the guy with cat ears. This was so not my day.

"And you are…?" I asked a tad shyly. As if on cue I felt the heat on my face, a sure sign I was blushing.

He smiled and said, "I'm Boris, nice to meet you. So I take it that you're a friend of Alice's?" He said, in a friendly way that instantly made me feel at ease.

"Yes," I said softly. "We've been friends for years." I smiled at him after I was done talking. "Um, can you put me down?" I asked tentatively. His face showed only surprise then a hint of embarrassment as he quickly put me down. I nervously ran my fingers through my hair, only to feel my hand stilled. I looked up with astonishment as Boris pulled my hand away from my hair.

Upon seeing my baffled expression he explained somewhat sheepishly, "Your hair is nice the way it is." Great, now my blush was blushing.

"Oh, thank you." I managed to say. Then I turned to find Alice staring at us with a smile on her face. Faster than the speed of light Boris and I jumped away from each other, leaving a good 10 feet between us.

"S-so, what happened after we jumped down the rabbit hole after you?" I managed to say, striving to sound somewhat composed. And failing miserably.

"Wait, you say you jumped after me?" Alice asked incredulously.

"Yes, why?"

"Vivien… I've been here for weeks!"

"How! We jumped in right after you!"

"We!"

"Daphne's here too! I mentioned that earlier!"

"Can you please stop screaming!" Boris finally said, sounding rather annoyed as he vainly tried to cover his ears. Alice turned away from hi impatiently as I silently mouthed an apology. "And to answer your question, time moves differently here in Wonderland Alice." Boris said, obviously disgruntled.

"But if you're here," Alice continued, completely ignoring Boris. "Then where is Daphne?"

"I have no idea." I said rather helplessly. Maybe I should have chosen to go to Daphne. At least Alice is safe.

"I'm sure she's fine." Boris said softly. I lifted my eyes and I saw that he was quite close to me. Nothing but worry evident on his face. I glanced at Alice, but thankfully she was so busy trying to absorb everything that she was oblivious to what was happening. Wait, nothing was happening! I pushed those annoying thoughts aside.

"I….I hope so." I said truthfully. I gave him a sad smile. His golden eyes met my violet ones and time seemed to stand still. Then Alice suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Come on! Let's go to the Clock Tower to see if we can figure something out!" Alice said frantically. Boris grabbed my other hand and for a moment I was pulled both way s before Alice let go and ran towards the building.

I turned back to Boris when he gently let go of my hand. His eyes were filled with mischief and on his lips was the most self-satisfied smirk I had ever seen in my life. I tried not to laugh as I noticed that his expression would have been totally appropriate on a cat. Without a word he pointed towards Alice. I turned toward the tower reluctantly, but when I turned back he was gone.

_**Elliot's PoV**_

I didn't know what to think when I heard Bl- er Daphne yell at me. I seriously thought it was Blood! When I looked at her I still thought it was Blood! Thankfully I realized she was a girl. But she really acts like him.

I snuck a glance at her walking beside me. She even has the same annoyed expression as him! It's almost as if Blood turned into a girl….

OH MY GOD! What if he did! "Blood?" I asked tentatively.

"Excuse me?" Daphne asked curiously.

"Er, n-nothing." I said pathetically. There's no way in hell that that would happen.

"So Elliot…." Daphne said lightly. I tensed up; Blood used the same tone whenever he talked business. And when you were in the Mafia, talking business was never a good thing to tune out. "Who **is** the man that took Alice?" Daphne asked. There was something off about her tone and I suddenly felt bad for Peter.

"His name is Peter White, he's the prime minister of Heart Castle." I told her reluctantly.

"Hm." Was all she said. "So what is this place anyway?" Daphne asked after a few moments of silence. I looked at her questioningly. "I'm not from around here." She said as an explanation.

"Then you're an outsider!" I said, astounded. Why was _**another**_ outsider here? How is that even possible?

"So I'm guessing that's the Clock Tower." Daphne said while pointing at something. I turned and saw that she was right.

"Hey boss lady!" Dee said happily.

"Will you come see us again?" Dum asked.

"Why 'boss lady'?" She asked pointedly, not answering the question.

"Because you look and act like our boss!" The twins said in sync.

"Oh." She said. She seemed to ponder that for a moment, deep in thought.

"So will you come see us again?" Dum asked, not one to be deterred.

Daphne smiled then said, "I suppose…I would very much like to meet this boss of yours." Inwardly I cringed; Blood and Daphne were extremely alike. If they didn't like each other then they were sure to make my life a living hell. Even if it was unintended on Daphne's part.

After hearing her response the twins both ran inside the Clock tower with an amuse Daphne following at a more sedate pace. I laughed a little, she really was just like him.

_**Daphne's PoV**_

I watched the boys in amusement as they ran inside. I heard a door slam and the twins excited voices. I neared the room and listened to what they were saying.

"…and now the boss lady is here!" Dee finished saying.

"Wait, who?" I sighed in relief as I heard Alice's voice.

"The boss lady, she acts just like boss. Looks like him too." Dum said helpfully.

"You don't mean-"Alice started to say as I reached the door.

"Hello Alice. " I said happily. To my surprise Alice was sitting rather close to a man with blue hair, but neither of them seemed to notice. Typical Alice, I thought wryly. Then I noticed Vivien sighing in relief. Knowing her she had probably been worried.

I rolled my eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. "Would someone mind telling me what's going on?"


	4. The Queen of Hearts

_The Queen of Hearts_

_**Alice's PoV**_

As soon as I had run inside the clock tower, I went straight to the roof. I slammed the door open and looked around frantically. No Daphne. I cursed and ran down the stairs only to run straight into Julius. "Sorry…"I managed to say as I tried to catch my breath. I leaned against the wall for support as the room started to spin.

"What's wrong?" Julius asked, he sounded concerned but a bit unsure as how to help.

"Daphne's missing!" I managed to say.

"Who's Daphne?" Julius asked in an understandably confused tone.

"She's one of my best friends!" I then went on to tell him everything I knew, striving to sound composed. Needless to say I was failing miserably.

Julius had a very troubled expression on his face. "You're saying that two more outsiders are here?" He asked urgently.

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all!" I said sarcastically, and a tad impatiently. He didn't notice as he stared blankly at the wall, deep in thought.

"Where. Is. Nightmare?" he asked deliberately. I suddenly felt bad for Nightmare since Julius looked angry and that was a rare thing for the usually stoic man. I tried to remember the last time I had seen him. He had been running from Gray…

"Alice, save me!"Said the before mentioned incubus frantically as he hid behind me. 1, 2, 3…I thought to myself and sure enough Gray came a moment later, looking understandably exasperated.

"Nightmare!" Julius spat out angrily. "There are _two_ more outsiders here!" The incubus had paled slightly at Julius' tone, but a sly smirk crept onto his face once the clockmaker had finished speaking.

"What did you expect me to do? Stop their descent into 'Wonderland'?" He asked, amused at the thought.

"Yes, that is exactly what you should have done! _You're breaking the rules of the game_."

"No," Nightmare said calmly, the smirk never leaving his face. "I've merely found a loophole." What are you, a lawyer? I thought to myself. I winced when Julius opened his mouth to reply, but thankfully Vivien round the corner; successfully capturing everyone's attention.

Vivien blushed at their stares and suddenly found the floor very interesting. "This is Vivien." I told them.

Vivien glanced up and gave a feeble wave when she froze. She pointed at Nightmare and said, "You're the man who made me drink that pink stuff!" All eyes turned to Nightmare who had the grace to look sheepish. Julius was glaring at Nightmare while Gray put himself between the two. I had a feeling things were going to get bad fast.

I walked over to Julius and said, "Why don't we sit down and think about what to do? We still don't know where Daphne is." Maybe it was how worried I sounded, but they all nodded and soon enough we were all seated. Julius was behind his desk as always while I sat on one of the other sides. Nightmare and Gray sat at the round table with Vivien.

Once everyone was quiet I turned to Nightmare, "So do you know where Daphne is?" he was about to answer when the door was slammed open. And in the doorway were the smiling gatekeepers.

"It's the pretty lady!" said Dum happily.

"You'll never guess what happened today!" said Dee.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to sound cheerful and mask the worry I actually felt.

"Well, we met another lady and she needed to come to the clock tower and now the boss lady is here!" Dee said happily.

"Wait, who?" I asked curiously. Could it be...?

"The boss lady, she acts just like boss. Looks like him too." Dum said helpfully.

"You don't mean-"

"Hello Alice." Said a voice I knew as well as my own. I looked away from the twins and saw Daphne. She was fine, or at least she hadn't been shot or sliced by the twins. I felt her eyes linger on me and Julius for a moment. I wonder why? Then she glanced at Vivien who let out a sigh of relief. And in a way that only Daphne could, she rolled her eyes, sighed in frustration, and said, "Would someone mind telling me what's going on?"

Oh, where to begin…

After a few hours of explaining everything to Vivien and Daphne it was dark again. I begged Julius to let them stay at the clock tower, to which he brusquely agreed. Daphne watched this with a smirk and lifted an eyebrow in my direction. However, at my questioning glance she just rolled her eyes.

Daphne, Vivien, and I all headed towards my room and we all sighed in relief at the sight of two other cots since the idea of sharing the average-sized bed was met with a bad reception. The two other girls found two more nightgowns and the one with more frill and bows was given to Vivien after Daphne favored a simpler, basic one. They then proceeded to collapse onto their cots with exhaustion. I laughed silently thinking back to my first day here. Shaking my head at the memory I lied down and thought that if Nightmare valued his life he wouldn't mess with Daphne's sleep for tonight.

_**Daphne's PoV**_

The next morning before I opened my eyes, I prayed that yesterday had only been a dream. Then I opened them. No such luck. I sighed, sat up, and noticed a dress had been laid at the foot of the cot.

I put it on and walked over to the mirror. It was a white dress. The sleeves were long and cinched at the elbow which made the rest of the cloth flare out slightly over my forearms. It was cinched at the waist as well to create a bit of a skirt that fell to my ankles. My hair was a mess so I just untangled it as much as I could and just braided it.

I walked out of the room and followed the sound of voices till I reached the room we had been in before. Except now it was bathed in sunlight from the window and the smell of coffee hit me like a ton of bricks as soon as I walked in. Alice and Vivien were sitting at the round table talking animatedly while Julius was sitting behind his desk fixing clocks. I repressed a shudder at the thought of those things being the equivalent of hearts in this place.

I looked over at Vivien and saw her wearing a different dress too. It was more feminine, like Vivien and it was a soft yellow that suited her violet eyes surprisingly well. It had short sleeves and went down to her knees, not unlike Alice's, and was tightly cinched at the waist causing the rest of the fabric to flare out attractively. The bodice was just high enough that it didn't show anything.

Vivien glanced up at me and blushed. I raised an eyebrow at her. "It's nothing." She said quickly. I just kept looking at her. "I met a boy yesterday!" She said a bit helplessly, hoping I'd let the subject drop.

"We'll talk about that later." I said calmly, letter her know that I wasn't going to this drop.

"Fine," She said with a sigh. "It's just…don't you think that dress is too…revealing." She was blushing like crazy once she finished speaking. I looked down at my dress and yes, it showed a little. But it wasn't _that_ revealing.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Vivien, you know I've worn worse. And not by much either. This isn't anything." She nodded, wanting to drop the subject immediately. I glanced at Julius, but thankfully he was oblivious to our whole conversation.

Alice who had been silent throughout the whole thing spoke up, "I think its fine." I shot her a look of gratitude.

"So, who's this boy?" I asked with a smirk. She hadn't seriously entertained the notion that I would let that one drop, did she? Vivien groaned while Alice and I shared knowing smiles.

"His name's Boris." Alice said happily.

"What does he look like?" I asked, completely ignoring Vivien's protests.

"He has pink hair," I didn't even bat an eyelash since I had received a load of information yesterday from Alice on how insane Wonderland was. "Cat ears, a tail, and he's punk, and built. " Alice added, giggling and then full on laughing as Vivien's blush grew redder at each comment.

"He's punk!" I said with mock-horror. "Whatever shall we do!" Then I was laughing with Alice while Vivien glared at us both.

"You two are unbelievable." She said indignantly. After that the morning was relatively quiet. Then at noon the door was opened abruptly. We glanced at the newcomer and found what I assumed to be Boris, based on Alice's description, standing in the doorway. Only one way to be sure, I thought to myself. I glanced at Vivien and saw her blushing. Yes, it was Boris.

"Hi Alice, Vivien," He smiled at Vivien and looked at her for a few moments. He tore his gaze away and said, "You must be Daphne."

"Yes, it's nice to meet finally meet you. Vivien has been talking about you all day." I steadily avoided Vivien's gaze but I could feel her eyes burning holes in the back of my head. Boris smiled and looked at Vivien.

"I was just wondering of Vivien wanted to go to the amusement park?" Boris asked.

"I'd love to go!" Vivien said happily. They started to walk through the door when Vivien suddenly spun around. "Don't you guys want to come too?" She asked. Boris looked at us.

"No, I'm helping Julius today." Alice said quickly.

"I have other plans." I said vaguely, not bothering to elaborate. After they left I turned to Alice, "Can we go to Heart Castle?" I asked her seriously.

"Why would you want to go there?" She asked, bewildered. "It's not exactly the safest place to be…"

"I need to pay someone a visit." I said with a smile.

Soon enough we were on our way to Heart Castle. Alice kept glancing at me worriedly, wondering what business I had at the castle. I pretended not to notice and kept my gaze on the scenery. Alice cleared her throat, obviously wanting to get my attention. I didn't acknowledge it much to her annoyance. She cleared her throat a second time and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I looked at her.

"Daphne…did you…I-I mean…." Alice said haltingly, a slightly frustrated expression on her face. "What I'm trying to say is…..The men here are very…_forward._ So Ace or Peter probably-"

"Alice," I interrupted, seeing where she was going with this. "No one assaulted me if that's what you're thinking."

Alice blushed and said, "No! It's just, if they _said_ something…suggestive then I just wanted you to know that 9 times out of 10 they don't mean it." She trailed off rather helplessly.

I laughed softly much to her embarrassment. She knew me so well. If someone had said or done something like_ that_ then I would pay them a visit, and when I left I only did so after I had guaranteed that they would never do something of _that sort_ again. I smirked as I remembered some of those occasions. "Don't worry Alice; I'm not going to hurt someone because they did something to me." I told her seriously. I'm going to hurt someone because they did something to _you_, I thought to myself. Alice, oblivious to my careful wording, smiled with relief while mumbling about stalker rabbits and perverted knights…

I knew about the 'stalker rabbit' bit, the part about 'perverted knights' worried me a little. I decided to ask her about it later. After a while we finally reached Heart Castle. Alice waved to the guards at the door which made them blush as we walked through the gates. "My goodness Alice, I didn't know you were so popular." I said teasingly. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Wait here while I go tell Vivaldi you're coming." Alice said quickly and ran inside. I wonder who Vivaldi is, I thought to myself. Let it be known that I have never claimed that I was blessed with the virtue known as patience so I felt no guilt in walking in after Alice after what seemed like a substantial amount of time. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared for the seemingly endless hallways that the castle seemed to possess in abundance. They don't even need a dungeon; all they have to do is let the prisoners free in castle and tell them to find their way out, I thought exasperatedly. Finally I saw sunlight at the end of the corridor and figured that I might as well see where it leads. I shielded my eyes from the brightness, after a few seconds I lowered my hand and looked around in amazement.

Roses were everywhere. It was beautiful. I breathed in and was not disappointed by the sweet aroma. I cupped the petals of a rose in one hand, much like how one would hold a glass of wine, and leaned in to smell their sweet scent.

_**Peter's PoV**_

After avoiding her majesty all day I think it's about time I go visit my sweet Alice, I thought to myself happily. I made my way to the garden where there were the least guards, if I can get past them quietly then her majesty will have no idea where I am. I looked at my gun woefully, it would be so much easier to kill the guards but that would alert her majesty to where I could've gone and if Alice hears then she will be very upset with me.

With great reluctance I started to head towards the less guarded areas of the garden when a sudden breeze came from my left. It carried a scent which I had seldom had the chance to experience at Heart Castle. It was the intoxicating scent of a foreigner, which of course meant that my Alice was here!

I looked to my left and saw a bit of white fabric from what I supposed to be Alice's apron behind a rose bush. I smiled happily and quickly hugged Alice from behind and said, "Oh, how I've missed you my sweet Ali-" But before I could finish a well-placed elbow to my gut had me on my knees clutching my stomach while Alice jumped away from me.

"Who the hell are you!" Said an indignant voice that did _not_ belong to my sweet Alice. I looked up at the woman, for I could tell that from her voice, and found her bearing an extraordinary likeness to a certain Mafioso. They had the same penetrating green eyes and black hair. Even the way they carried themselves, I noted with distaste, was almost the exact same. She reminded me somewhat of her majesty because of the way she was looking at me in contempt.

I brushed myself off and stood up slowly and she took a few steps back to what she deemed a safe distance from me. I held out both hands in front of me, much like one would to surrender, and said, "I apologize, I mistook you for someone else." She studied me for a moment then something akin to recognition flashed briefly on her face.

Then she finally spoke, "You're the man who kidnapped Alice!"

_**Daphne's PoV**_

I looked upon the man responsible for all of this with pure hatred. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't have been in this mess. I was awaiting his reply to my previous statement, wondering what he could possibly have to defend himself with. He frowned slightly and said, "I did not kidnap her, I was merely fulfilling a promise from long ago. That not even she remembers." He said somewhat sadly. I was too angry to care.

"And what promise entails kidnapping her?" I asked, seemingly calm but not bothering to try and conceal the rage my eyes no doubt projected. His eyes immediately turned harsh in comparison to their previous expression and I had the unpleasant feeling that I was in over my head, but I was nothing if not stubborn so I squashed the feeling of unease and glared back resolutely.

"This is none of your concern," He stated brusquely. "This is between me and Alice and you are an annoyance that can be taken care of quickly." I felt my blood run cold at the sight of a gun in his once empty hand. I was about to throw myself behind another rose bush when his finger started for the trigger when a voice shouted out, stopping us both.

"Peter, what the hell do you think you're doing!" Alice screamed at the man in front of me, who had turned to a love-struck fool the moment he saw her. With a quick flick of his wrist the gun was gone and the man launched himself at Alice all while professing his love to her. Alice quickly stepped out of the way and paid him no heed as he fell, face first onto the ground. "Daphne, are you all right? He didn't hurt you did he?" Alice asked worriedly. I laughed slightly, not showing a hint of the relief I felt from her excellent timing.

"I'm fine Alice, and I've actually completed what I set out to do in the first place." Alice looked confused for a moment then came the realization of what had transpired.

"You are so overprotective." Alice mock-complained, her words effectiveness diminished by the bright smile on her face.

"Someone has to be." I replied, without missing a beat. It was an old argument; one we knew would never be resolved. For the world would be a strange place if Alice Liddell didn't get herself into trouble and even stranger if Daphne wasn't there to help her out of it. It was this one instance when they're roles had been reversed. "And," I continued. "I think that you should stay away from _him._ He's too dangerous for you to be around, not to mention a bit too trigger happy for you or anyone for that matter to handle." Alice nodded enthusiastically in agreement albeit for the roll of her eyes at my tone.

"I would never hurt Alice." Peter insisted from a few meters away.

"Oh?" I inquired scathingly. "If you had killed me then Alice would have been hurt."

"No she wouldn't." He said confidently. I had a sick feeling in my stomach as I saw he truly believed what he was saying and the craziness of this world amazed me yet again.

"Yes I would've!" Alice declared vehemently. I looked at her with surprise, not expecting her to say anything. "Daphne is my dearest friend, and if you had hurt her I would never have forgiven you." Peter looked unimpressed at the mention of the word 'friend', but shrugged nonetheless. He was about to open his mouth when we were interrupted yet again.

"White, leave the outsiders alone. We do believe you have work to do." Said a woman who had quite suddenly appeared beside Alice. Peter grudgingly got up and entered the castle. I turned to see who was behind me and saw a beautiful woman who, by the crown on her head, I guessed to be the Queen of Hearts. We studied each other for a moment. "We are Vivaldi, and you are?" She said imperiously.

"Daphne." I said smoothly, while meeting her gaze unflinchingly. We studied each other for a few moments more until the Queen smirked.

"We are pleased to meet you, Daphne. We hope the men here haven't been too much trouble." She said while a flash of annoyance crossed her face as she said the word 'men'.

I returned her smirk with one of my own and replied easily, "I am pleased to meet you as well. White is the only one I've had trouble with so far, though I confess I haven't met them all."

Vivaldi nodded once and said, "We would like to invite both you and Alice to join us for tea since it is now dusk." I looked towards the sky for a moment and realized that the time had indeed shifted. Vivaldi led the way to small table where there were three cups of tea. We sat down and inquired as to what tea it was. "Black tea." I smiled, that was my favorite. I picked up the teacup and took a small sip; I was too busy enjoying the taste to notice the confused look on Alice's face.

_**Alice's PoV**_

Why is Vivaldi serving Black tea? I thought to myself. She has a special blend she always uses. The only one who serves black tea is… I glanced at Vivaldi who looked pleased with Daphne's reaction. That was the normal reaction for any host I'm sure, but there was something about her eyes. Almost like she was planning something.

Author's Note:: Sorry for the extremely long wait! I've actually had half of this typed up for a while but I just didn't want to write in Peter's point of view so I kept putting it off… Hopefully the fact that this is probably the longest chapter I've ever written for fanfiction will make up for the wait. Thank you for all the reviews and starting from now on I'll be answering reviews in the author's notes because I'm not sure anyone reads these… Anyways, what is Vivaldi planning? If you're the first to guess correctly (it's really not that difficult) then you get a prize!


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